


The Cause of Sorrow

by Ndddd97



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, One Shot, Spoilers, no beta we die like Glenn, slow burn?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:14:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22798402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ndddd97/pseuds/Ndddd97
Summary: Byleth lost his loved one and so does Ingrid, and soon the two would find comfort in each other's lost.
Relationships: Ingrid Brandl Galatea & My Unit | Byleth, Ingrid Brandl Galatea/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	The Cause of Sorrow

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a long story like this one with complex characters so feedback is appreciated.
> 
> And BTW Spoiler of course!!

“Blasted this rain!!”

“Just hurry up and get into the dormitory” The two students lashed out on each other as they, along with others, all run to the nearest buildings to avoid the sudden rainfall.

Ethereal Moon, the month of such excitement now fallen in the shadow to the dark tragic event befell the monastery: the death of Jeralt Reus Eisner, the legendary Blade Breaker.  
The once sunny day, now overtaken by the dark clouds littered throughout the sky covering the sun and pouring down dozen of droplets of rain. From the window viewing the dark sky and the torrent rain, the once-proud, chivalrous and honor-bound Blue Lions, now found themselves sharing their professor’s pain as they witnessed the once stoic and apathetic man’s most vulnerable side.

The room was quiet saved from the heavy cracking sound of the rain and Mercedes reciting her prayer to the departed Jeralt, covered by the white cloth from head to toe, lying motionless on his deathbed. As Mercedes reciting the prayer and fighting back the tears, others felt emotionally downtrodden and morally wounded. 

Annette, the once cheerful girl, sitting and hunched down uncharacteristically quiet and grieved. The dark blue-haired boy, Felix, was sitting next to her quiet but now scowling with heavy breathing and clenching his fists as if he was angered more than saddened. 

The redhead, Sylvain, sitting at the table with his hand holding onto the forehead with his fingers weaving through his hair and his other hand clenched slightly resting onto the surface of the table. He was as sad as any of his classmates were, proving that he too possessed genuine grief and empathy, besides his wise-cracking and skirt-chasing side.

The gentle giant Dedue standing still by the door, despite being stern and stoic, he too was saddened by this turn of event expressing grief towards his professor. And the professor himself, Byleth Eisner, standing next to Mercedes with his hands clasped to his chest and his eyes closed while letting tears slowly drip down onto the floor and praying along with her. The Ashen Demon, an apathetic mercenary known to kill many mercilessly in his path, now a fully emotional human being crying for the first time upon his father’s death. 

All were quiet with the sound of rainfall reverberating through the window glass and the prayer filling the solemn atmosphere of the room. All but interrupted by the creaking sound of the door opened as all turned towards to the sound. Prince of Faerghus, Dimitri stood by the door as he entered the room with the same downtrodden and saddened face as others with the sound of his metal boots echoed throughout the quiet room. Eventually, he sat down on one of the empty chairs and hunched down with his clasped together. Silence came beside the heavy raining as the whole room waiting for someone to speak up.

“I-Is... Ashe okay?” Annette spoke up timidly among the group after noticing that Ashe was missing as Dimitri looked up at her and shook his head.

“He... He is in his room... Crying right now” Dimitri answered her with sincere sadness as silence, but the solemnity was broken by one single word of anger.

“Coward” Bluntly said out loud from the swordsman with no hint of remorse as others were shocked and angered to hear him mock Ashe.

“YOU TAKE IT BACK, FELIX!!” Annette scolded him with equal anger and grief in her voice as Felix shrugged it off and looked away from her.

“And why should I?” Bluntly asked her back with no mind of his words may bring him as Annette now grew more and more impatient and angered at him. Her tears welled up on her eyes as she clenched her fists, readied to teach him a lesson but Sylvain, of all the people, had to intervene.

“I know that you are upset, Felix. But please, don’t say it while the professor is-“ As soon as Sylvain stood up from his chair and made his way to the two, Felix immediately lunged at him like a wild beast ambushed his prey and shoved him hard onto the closet. This sudden action caught everyone in the room by surprise, except for the professor.

“Felix!! Calm down dude-“

“YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE TO CALM DOWN!!!” Felix yelled at him while tugging on his collar shirt tightly.

“You two!! Stop fighting right now!!!” Mercedes intervened with tears welling up but that only made Felix angrier than he shouldn’t be.

“And you should stay out of this!!” His words, as sharp as his sword is, wounded Mercedes greatly as she covered her mouth with tears slowly flowing down her cheeks, all just for stopping Felix from attacking Sylvain.

“YOU APOLOGIZE TO MERCEDES NOW, FELIX!!!” Annette barked back at him as Dimitri finally rose up from his seat to break the fight.

“Stop this already, Felix! Can’t you see that you are breaching the sacred space of the professor-“ 

“WHY CAN’T YOU SEE THAT WE ARE ALL FAILURE RIGHT NOW??!!!” Felix finally snapped as his words had now stunned them and made them realize the meaning of his aggression was. For them to realize that they had failed to protect their professor’s only parent he has. But his words also carried a personal meaning to all of his friends. All were silent but for the rain and the sobbing of one girl.

“F-Felix y-you... y-you... Y-YOU MONSTER!!!” With one final word, Annette quickly ran out of the room sobbing along the way.

“A-Annie!! W-Wait!!” Mercedes followed her behind trying to catch up with her as Felix let go of Sylvain’s collar and dropped him down onto the floor.

“I will be at the training ground” Bluntly said as he stormed off the room leaving the professor and the remaining of the Blue Lions behind. Sylvain was too stunned to pick himself up and Dimitri, along with Dedue, felt overwhelming guilt over what Felix said. He too had failed to save his professor’s loved one. Minutes went by, Dimitri finally spoke up.

“I-I’m sorry for what Felix had said. I will go look for him and-“

“There’s no need” Finally spoke the professor he is, while still praying as the three were stunned at his words. This time, Dedue finally spoke up after a long silence.

“But professor, Felix violated-“

“It’s okay Dedue. We are at fault here” The professor interrupted Dedue with his words as the three now realized what the professor meant. At this point, Sylvain looked around the room wondering.

“Have anyone seen Ingrid?” He asked breaking the silence.

“I saw her entering her room earlier. Maybe you should look for her there” Dimitri suggested as Sylvain picked himself up with the chair as the support and dusted himself off.

“I will pick her up there. See you three later” Sylvain left the room cheerily as he usually is, but it was all a mask to hide his sadness and grief.

“I will go see if Ashe okay”

“I will be there with you” Dedue nodded and left the room with Dimitri follow him only to stop as he turned to his professor once again.

“I’m sorry that we couldn’t save your father, professor. He was a brave knight to us all and a great father to you. I-I... I sincerely apologize” Dimitri bowed slightly to him before closing the door leaving him and his now departed father in the room alone together. As Byleth finished his prayer, he sat down on his chair once again, hunched remembering his last conversation with his father many weeks before. He could vividly remember it now, the two having tea under the warm sunny day, sitting by the gazebo and surrounded by the lively hedges.

“You know that those Faerghus kids have personal problems of their own, don’t you?” Jeralt asked worriedly while swirling the teacup in his hand, as in wrapping his entire hand around the teacup, as Byleth let out a sigh of worry as he looked at his reflection on the surface of the tea.

“I know father. But they are my students. I chose them for a reason” Byleth spoke his mind as he took a sip of his tea.

“Then what that reason then may I ask?” Jeralt asked out of curiosity as he drank his tea like he would with a mug full of alcohol only for him to react and stick out his tongue in disgust.

“What’s in this stuff? Vinegar?” Byleth giggled at his father’s complaint as he took another sip.

“Just chamomile flower. And as for your question, I want to help them” Byleth answered with conviction and determination as he put his cup down onto the saucer as his father gave him a stern look that questioned his son’s capability. He must admit though, his son, who had no prior teaching experience before, was able to hold such a problematic group together and manage them like a group of mercenaries.

“I see. I hope that you teach them well and help them overcome their past... May I?” Held his cup in front of Byleth as if asking him to refill his cup.

“You just spat it out moments ago. And now you want to taste it again?” Byleth sarcastically mocked his father’s taste as Jeralt just giggled at his response.

“What? Can an old man like myself enjoys tea?” He joked prompting Byleth to let out a faint smile and giggle along the way.

“If you wish father” Byleth reached over to a tea kettle and poured some of chamomile tea into his father’s cup. How come he wasn’t badly burned from the heat of the tea!

“So how’s that lass doing on you?” Jeralt asked while sipping on his tea and enjoyed its taste this time without complaining.

“Who are you referring, father?” Byleth asked pouring the tea into his cup.

“That blond lass. That girl from Galatea” Jeralt clarified.

“Oh... You mean Ingrid, father? She’s a remarkable student. Hard-working, serious and devoted to her dream of becoming a knight even though she has to put up with some of her classmates’ shenanigans” Byleth commented on with pride and confidence in her that Jeralt smirked at him just for that.

“You know son. You spend more time with that girl than other students in your class. Care to explain?” As Byleth was about, he felt a hand ghosted over his shoulder and a voice rang out to him.

“Professor... Professor... Professor...” Eventually Byleth snapped out of his daydream and woke up to see the familiar sight once again.

“Professor” A female voice called out to him as Byleth turned to a hand on his shoulder, and from there he looked up to see a blond student absent from the room.

“Are you okay, Professor?” Ingrid worriedly asked her professor as Byleth could see the tears staining her cheeks and her reddened eyes, but he chose to ignore them.

“I’m... I’m okay Ingrid. Thank you for worrying about me” Byleth reassured her as she just nodded.

“I’m glad that you are okay, Professor” Despite speaking as calm and composed as she could, underneath was a layer of sorrow and grief in her tone. As her hand left his shoulder, Byleth gently reached her hand as his hand wrapped around her four digits. Ingrid winced and turned around to see him staring at her emerald eyes with genuine worry and concern while his face still remained stoic and stone-faced.

“You are sad, aren’t you Ingrid?” He asked with the same worry and concern in his voice as Ingrid looked away from him.

“You don’t need to concern over me, Professor. I’m fine as I am” Ingrid denied as Byleth stood up still holding onto her fingers.

“I know that you were outside when the argument started. From the eyes and tears, you were deeply hurt by his words, weren’t you?” Byleth surmised just from her eyes and stain on her cheeks that surprised her and forced her to confess.

“Y-Yes I was professor. Went I got to your door, I heard some fighting inside. As I was about to enter, I heard those words out loud from inside” Ingrid confessed and later repeated what Felix said to all of his classmates.

“We are all failure...” They went silent after that saved for the still ongoing torrent of rain and occasional thunders. 

“Let discuss this at my room” Byleth spoke up breaking the silence as he let go of her fingers and left the room ahead of her as Ingrid got stunned by this sudden shift of event.

“W-Wait professor!” She followed him before paying respect to the passing Jeralt and closing the door to his quarters. She caught up with him as the two stood under the large archway watching the heavy rainfall.

“That’s a long way to the dormitory. I suppose you have something to cover us from the rain, professor?” Ingrid asked as Byleth quickly took off his jacket and held it over his head, thinking ahead of her.

“Get in” Byleth said and gestured her as she went underneath his jacket and held onto it as the two walked as fast as they could under the rainfall. With the two of them running, only the sound of heavy rain, their footsteps over the pool of water and their heavy breathing accompanied them. After some time, they made it to the dorm area as they stopped at Byleth’s room to regain their breathing.

“This is quite a heavy rain, Professor” Ingrid said in between her heavy breathings as Byleth wrung the rainwater out of his jacket. Once it was dry enough, he hung it over his shoulder and opened the door.

“Let get inside now” Byleth motioned her as Ingrid stepped inside his room with him follow behind closing the door. Ingrid immediately sat on the edge of the room touching her forearms feeling the coldness as Byleth placed the jacket on the chair and placed some of the hardwoods into the fireplace. He held out his hand and with some simple chant of “Fire” he set the woods ablaze lighting the fireplace, bringing in the much-needed warmth to the room.

“Your blazer, Ingrid” Byleth bluntly asked holding out his hand as Ingrid flinched at the offer and felt slightly embarrassed about it.

“I-I’m perfectly fine, Professor. There’s no need for me to take off my blazer. See?” Ingrid put her reassured face nervously while trying to hold off the sneeze. Unfortunately, her nose twitched violently and eventually she had to let out a sneeze that made her professor chuckled at her.

“I know what you are going to say, Professor” Ingrid pouted her face after the failed attempt to lie as she unbuttoned her blazer. Once she was done, she took off her blazer revealing a white shirt underneath and handed her blazer to her professor. Byleth set in on the seat of the chair as he set the chair near the fireplace to warm up their clothes while also feeding the fireplace with more woods.

“Feeling warmer, Ingrid?” Her professor asked while approaching the drawer to grab a tea set.

“You could say that, Professor. But still feeling cold though” Ingrid replied as she rubbed her forearms to get warmer.

“Don’t worry about the cold. I will get the tea ready” As Byleth set to prepare the tea for the two, Ingrid looked around the room to pass the time. When she first visited his room, it was barren with nothing to decorate his room saved for his stuffs during his mercenary days. But now, it filled with decoration and gifts from her class and other students, such as the novel Ashe gave him and the gem Mercedes gifted him. Along the way, she would daydream about the time she had with her professor, mostly about consulting her and helping her with personal problem. Her daydream would later be interrupted by a familiar aroma as she sniffed and turned to look at her professor, who was done preparing the tea.

“Is that...” Ingrid asked.

“Chamomile tea. Your favorite” Byleth replied as he poured into their cups and brought them over. He put his cup onto the drawer near his bed and handed one with the saucer to Ingrid.

“The tea is still hot, but it will warm you up” Ingrid took her cup as he held the cup with her left and the saucer with her right. 

“Thank you Professor” Ingrid lifted her cup and blew the steaming cup as she took a sip on the tea, later delighted from the taste.

“You always know how to brew such fine tea” Ingrid complimented as her professor took his cup and sat next to her.

“I have to learn it from Ferdinand. Quite a tea specialist he is” He explained as sipped his tea, not minding its hot temperature.

“More like a pompous noble. He and Lorenz got on my nerve too often” She scoffed at them as Byleth chuckled at her and took another sip. After the small talk, silence came between them as they held onto their tea cup for few minutes later, with the crackling sound of the fireplace and the sound of the heavy rain accompanied them in Byleth’s room.

“What do you want to discuss Professor?” Ingrid spoke up bringing up the reason he brought her to his room in the first place as Byleth’s soft and caring face became a serious one.

“I want to discuss about the tragedy itself” As Byleth revealed, Ingrid set her tea down by her lap and hung her head down in grief and sadness after hearing the main point of their discussion.

“How much do you know?” She asked in a grieving tone as Byleth set his cup onto the drawer.

“Enough to know that my students have been suffered because of it. Dimitri’s psyche, the Duscur people’s prejudice, Felix’s anger to his father, Gilbert’s guilt and his abandonment of his family and you too Ingrid” Byleth stopped at her in particular as Ingrid tried to avert her eyes from him and remain silent on the matter, still holding onto her cup.

“You have someone you hold dear to, don’t you Ingrid?” Tried as she may but his words ultimately struck her as she was forced to confess to her professor.

“His name was Glenn. Son to Rodrigue, older brother to Felix and... my fiancée”

“Fiancée?” Taken aback slightly from this piece of information as his mouth slight gasped but his eyes still portrayed his apathy.

“Glenn and I were betrothed when I was born. Mostly for political purpose but despite that, me and Glenn slowly became acquainted and eventually friend to each other” As Ingrid explained to her professor, she looked up at the ceiling and reminisced all the time she and Glenn spent time together as kids. From training, playing, traveling, her and Glenn’s bond grew stronger and stronger when they were together, even in harsh time and sad moment. All the while, she was wearing a comforting smile, one that differed from the smile Byleth has seen before.

“I heard you two grew close to each other from those three” Byleth chimed in as Ingrid continued on about her and Glenn.

“In times, both of us became close to one another. Traveling, playing, training together during those early years of ours. When Glenn became a knight, he inspired me and shaped my dream of becoming a knight just like him” 

“Ah, so that’s why you devote yourself to become a knight just like him”

“Yes, Professor. I admired him both as a knight I aspired to be and as a man that I loved... or could have loved if fate didn’t play its hand cruelly for me” A single tear flowed down her cheer as Byleth laid his hand onto her shoulder to reassure. He was about to speak but she continued on while tears starting to well on her eyes, prompting him to go silent.

“But even with his death, even when I cried mourning throughout the whole night alone in my room, I convinced myself to move on and continue my journey of becoming a knight. With him as my side, as I traverse through the hardship and pain. The pain of remembering his death and the hardship of maintaining my dream and helping my father. But even then, no matter how hard I try...” Tears started flowing down her cheeks as Byleth witnessed her most vulnerable side and saw her crying for the first time. Ingrid bit her lower lip with tears dripped down from her cheeks as she let out her final speech.

“I-I can’t stop thinking how... a failure I was to you, Professor” Before breaking down and crying as she moved her hands to cover her crying face, dropping the teacup onto the floor spilling its content. Byleth watched the girl who aspired to become a knight, crying over the notion of her being a failure, not just herself and to him as well. Feeling sympathy towards his student, Byleth pulled her in and hugged her resting his chin on top of her head while Ingrid still crying with her hands now resting on her lap. Byleth gently brushed her hair trying to comfort her  
.  
“It’s okay Ingrid, I’m too a failure just like all of you” As Byleth confessed to her, Ingrid looked at him in shock while crying.

“P-Professor?”

“I failed to save my father. Even with the Sword of Creator in my hand, I couldn’t save him. As I held onto his body and saw him die in front of me, I felt only regret and guilt and eventually doubt over my ability to lead you all” His tone and face now carried grief and doubt as he rested his cheek on top of her head and cried a single tear, all the while still hugging her. For all her time interacting with him, this is the first time that she ever saw his most vulnerable. For the man whose name brought terror to those around him, whose emotion conveyed only apathy and whose face brought discipline and stoic, only for him to show genuine emotion toward those he grew close to and grief towards the one he cared most. Despite wanting to help him out, there was nothing more Ingrid could help but to watch her professor cry and doubt. The only thing she could do now was to lay her head onto his chest whilst the crying still continued. The two continued to grieve with the sound of the crackling fireplace and heavy rain accompanied them.

“But my father wouldn’t want to see me crying like this” Byleth spoke up startling Ingrid with his newfound solace and self-assurance.

“Even if he died, he would be there for me. Watching me and standing by my side, encouraging me and helping me to move forward. He may not be there now but he is there... in spirit for me” Byleth pushed Ingrid back so she could look at him with her emerald eyes.

“And I suspect Glenn wouldn’t want you to cry as well, would he?” His words struck Ingrid as she would too find the same solace and self-assurance just like her professor. And he is right, whether Glenn was here or not, he wouldn’t want her to cry over things like failure, he wanted her to follow his footsteps and helped her realize her dream of becoming the knight. That’s what Glenn wanted her to be and he will always be there for her in spirit, just like her professor’s father Jeralt.

“Thank you for your kind words, Professor. I felt much more relieved and at ease now knowing that Glenn is always by my side helping me and watching me, just like your father” Ingrid spoke up with newfound purpose and confident as she wiped off her and Byleth’s tears smiling comfortably at him. Byleth smiled in return as well knowing that he lifted him and Ingrid from their sorrow. Silence came between as the two stared deeply at each other’s eyes with the sound of rainfall slowly faded away.

“Professor?” Ingrid spoke up bringing him back from staring into her eyes as she laid her hand on the left side of his face.

“Yes, Ingrid-” As soon as he replied, Ingrid suddenly leaned in and planted her lips onto his, catching him by surprise before pulling away and looking at her professor’s stunned and smitten face. It took her minutes to finally realize what she had done as she quickly backed away and embarrassingly panicked with her face became as red as a tomato.

“I-I’M VERY SORRY PROFESSOR!?! I-I DIDN’T MEAN TO KISS YOU?!? I-I JUST MEAN TO THANK YOU?!!? I-I DON’T KNOW WHAT GOT INTO ME-“ Byleth ceased her panic and embarrassed rambling by holding onto her shoulders and giving a quick kiss on the forehead as Ingrid was stunned by his action.

“It’s okay Ingrid. Our body has tendency to do things that our mind has no control over of” Byleth reassured her as he stood up from his bed and opened the door slightly to outside. The rain had settled down greatly as the blue sky came back with ray of light shining onto the surface of the puddle and droplet of water dripping down onto the ground.

“The rain has died down. It’s safe to go now” Byleth spoke up snapping Ingrid out of her stunned state.

“A-Ah yes, professor. I-I suppose I should get going then” Ingrid rushed over to the chair to grab her blazer and put them while still being stunned from before. Byleth stepped aside and let the door open just slightly as Ingrid walked to it and gripped on the doorknob.

“Thank you Professor” She thanked him before leaving his room and closing the door behind him. Byleth just smiled in response as he went to grab his coat and let it rest on his shoulders. He then sat on his desk contemplating what to do next before remember to clean up the teacup on the floor. Meanwhile, Ingrid leaned against the door and laid her hand onto her chest as she let out a sigh of relief. She then looked up at the sunny blue sky and let out a comforting smile.

“I find a new purpose now, Glenn. Not only become a knight but also protect my professor... and maybe love him as much as I did to you” She blushed a little bit before rushing over to her friends and classmates to comfort them.


End file.
